6/11/2010 @ 2:00PM

Good News! Your Brain Is Getting Smarter

Forgetfulness, distractedness, muddled thoughts–all classic signs of middle age. You might think that everyone on the other side of 40 needs their head examined.

Fortunately, Barbara Strauch has done just that. In her new book, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain, Strauch, 58, a New York Times health and medical science editor, parses scientific research, brain scans and life span studies to arrive at a revolutionary–and eminently reassuring–conclusion: Middle-aged brains are smarter. Better yet, middle-aged people, roughly those between 40 and 68, are happier.

Despite the hype about losing millions of brain cells as we age (not true, says Strauch) and the all-too-real senior moments, middle-aged minds are better able “to make accurate judgments about people, about jobs, and about finances–about the world around us. Our brains build up patterns of connections, interwoven layers of knowledge that allow us to recognize similarities of situations and see solutions.” In other words, unlike our rash younger brains, our cool-headed middle-aged brains can see the forest for the trees.

This is due, in part, to myelin (the fatty white coating on brain neurons), which continues to grow until late middle age. As myelin increases, it builds connections that make sense of our surroundings. This white matter may be “middle aged wisdom” itself, in the words of one Harvard University scientist.

Strauch talked to ForbesWoman about why she has “a zippity-do-da sense of well being in middle age,” why we should all eat more blueberries and fish oil and the reason teenagers are good for us.

ForbesWoman: Whats different about the middle-aged brain?

Strauch: Introductions are in order because the brain that we now see in middle-age is brand new for the species. And in terms of our planet, it’s the first time middle-aged people existed in such large numbers. So we’re gathering a lot of information and data and what we’ve found is completely surprising and very good news.

We generally use terms like mid-life crisis, empty nest syndrome and senior moments when talking about middle age. Is this fair and accurate?

The mid-life crisis and empty nest syndrome have little grounding in reality. They’re derogatory terms and mostly untrue, so let’s get rid of them. But it is true that in middle age there are problems with short-term memory. Names fly out of our heads, we’re easily distracted and brain processing speed slows down. We think we have holes in our heads and we’re losing our minds. We’re scared. But while it can be annoying and scary to forget a name or what movie you saw last weekend, it’s not Alzheimer’s. These glitches are no big deal.

In other words, biologically, it’s all good?

Scientists used to think the brain lost 30% of its cells as we age. It’s not the case. We do keep our brain cells if we are healthy. There are some declines regarding brain branches and neurotransmitters, and there is some overall shrinkage–about 2% a decade. Generally, though, the brain stays pretty much intact and doesn’t age like the rest of our bodies. Unlike the skin or hair, which wrinkle and gray, the brain is protected from the sun and fading away.

Are middle-aged brains better than younger brains?

The average 25 year old [brain] has a much faster processing speed and also has an easier time learning and memorizing. But our middle-aged brains get the gist, the big picture, faster. We have social expertise which helps us size up people and situations, and see solutions. We’ve seen a lot and make connections. As one 55-year-old manager told me: “We have a library of experience to draw on to figure out what to do. I guess you would call that experience.”

Does how we care for our brain in middle age impact our brains in old age?

How we behave and treat our brains does affect us when we are elderly. Although you can’t discount genetics, it helps if you don’t get a cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The research shows that what’s good for our hearts is good for our brains. What we do with our bodies goes to our brains. Top of the list are healthy nutrients–antioxidants like blueberries and anti-inflammatories like spinach and fish oil–oxygen intake and exercise.

How are you taking care of your brain?

I’ve always been a swimmer, and yoga helps me move better. I’ve also started running. I don’t take supplements, but I do eat more salad. I also try to talk to people that I disagree with. It keeps my brain sharp and forces me to justify why I think what I think. That’s probably why teenagers are good for us.

Why did you write this book?

In our culture there’s a drum beat about aging: Be depressed. We are very age-focused with a constant sense that “you’re not what you were.” Women, in particular, are susceptible to feeling bad. People are silently worried about their brains, are going through the alphabet, trying to remember names. And in this recession, a lot of middle-aged brains walked out the door–or were pushed. Celebrating the middle-aged brain is a way to reorganize society.

In many ways, because of this book, I was empowered and began to appreciate my brain more and watch what it does. There’s a zippity-do-da sense of well being in middle age.

In your book you quote author Ann Patchett, who described the experience of finding photos of herself when she was 32 years old: “I looked much better 11 years ago” but “I was also struck by the fact that I am smarter now.” Is it the same for you?

I’m more intellectually interested in the world than I was before. I read more history; right now I’m reading a book about Andrew Jackson. It’s funny, I have shelves of history books but I don’t remember reading them, although I know I have because I’ve written in the margins and underlined passages. What’s telling is I don’t remember each battle scene but I do get the nuanced complex picture.

Is this just another instance of baby boomers patting themselves on the back?

I tried to be as honest as I could about that. But our brains do operate differently. Yes, there are some deficiencies and certain losses, but we as a group are entering middle age and getting older in way that’s different from past generations. We’ve been well-fed and well-taken care of much longer and better than our parents, grandparents and so on. We are getting cognitively better generation by generation.